Pot Limit Omaha Poker strategies

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Pot Limit Omaha Poker Strategies

Pot Limit Omaha Poker is an exciting poker game which requires a lot of skill and patience to master. Though derived from Texas Hold’em poker it is different since the 4 hole cards come in play. Further, owing to this game’s pot limit betting style, PLO is the perfect example of why poker is a game of skill. There are many things that a player has to be wary of while learning PLO. In this section below, we have tried to compile some Pot Limit Omaha Poker Strategies for you to enhance your skill set.

Do not get attached to AAXX hands

The biggest gameplay mistake which any player makes while making transition from Texas Holdem to Pot Limit Omaha is overrating the strength of AAXX hands. It simply because of the strong reputation of pocket aces in Holdem. Every Omaha pro suggest not be excited of such hole cards and better look for other possibilities apart from this single pair. Instead of raising and re-raising, you should bet carefully preflop with AAXX hole cards. In further rounds after monitoring your opponent’s moves and seeing the community cards, you may opt to play aggressively is it helps.

Watch the Pot

In Pot Limit Omaha, need to bet wisely based on the pot size as you can’t bet beyond the pot limit. Based on your hole cards’ strength and card combinations forming in further rounds, you should draw adequate money in the pot from opponents. With good cards, betting at least 2/3rd of the pot size is known to be the best strategy in PLO as it keeps your opponents interested to bet more without exposing you to a big risk. You need to be tactical while raising and re-raising in Pot Limit Omaha so that your opponents do not fold away and the pot keep growing steadily for you to win in the end.

Have Patience

In Pot Limit Omaha, the hand possibilities changes unexpectedly with every community card opening on the table. So, it is advised to have patience and be watchful during the game. You may require folding several hole cards but, remember you are saving your bankroll this way for better hands. So, you should focus on playing the best hands only. A patient mind could win you more money than playing wildly every single hand which you are dealt.

Do not slow play

The biggest mistake which every player makes at some point of time in Pot Limit Omaha is not drawing correct value out of the big hands. This comes naturally in their gameplay from Texas Holdem. Playing slow in Omaha downgrades the value of your hand as with every card opening on table, the outs and odds changes abruptly. Instead of slow play, you should look to bet enough in the pot which makes your opponent pay more to the see the next card. This helps you maintain a strong hold of the game and also lets you dominate your opponents till showdown.

Play tight when out of position

Your table position becomes more important when playing Pot Limit Omaha. The best Omaha strategy is to play tight out of position as you don’t know what’s coming your way from the opponents. So, you should bet cautiously even with the strong hole cards when out of position. However, playing in position has its own perks of taking decision after watching your opponent’s moves. But, while playing out of position it is suggested not to raise or re-raise preflop which saves you bankroll for the further rounds in which you could have got an idea of what your opponents are chasing down.

Be a smart bluff master

Bluffing is one of the smartest moves while betting in poker and the same follows in Pot Limit Omaha. But, you need to be more careful while bluffing in Omaha as the number of hands possibilities multiplies in this format. You opponents may re-raise or even keep calling your bluffed bet because community cards tend to change all the proportions. The best Omaha strategy is to bluff in the later rounds say, Turn or River than the early hand like preflop and flop. Also, you should look for the number of players remaining live in the hand before bluffing as it becomes easy to bluff one or two player rather than many.

Do not play small rundown hands

A small rundown hand is one like A234 or 3456 irrespective of suits. Such hands don’t qualify to form even the top 3 hands on the table in Pot Limit Omaha because of highly fluctuating nuts on every street. You’ll always be at the high risk of loosing or folding after betting a sizeable amount in the game. Remember, in Omaha you should be chasing top hands on the table contrary to low hands like one pair or two pair in Holdem. Hence, avoiding playing these small rundown hands is regarded as a good Omaha strategy in long run.

Don’t tilt on Bad Beats

Similar to other variants of poker, you may hit a bad beat in Pot Limit Omaha too. The best thing to avoid them is to be watchful rather than going on intuitions. Even if you face a badbeat, you should move on. Avoid being too much of emotionally frustrated as it may hamper your further hands. Many a times, players continue their game in such mood which is not at all profitable in any sense. Better, you may take a break and re-join the game with new strategies to amplify your bankroll.